We were walking down the street and we saw an Airedale,
and immediately fell in love.
We found Oban, and she has truly
lived up to being what an Airedale should be.
She is sweet and loving and loyal.
We became passionate about rescue
when we learned about Talisker.
He was found with about 29 Airedales.
These were animals that had been
inbred and then ignored.
And we felt like we needed to do something.
We went down to Kentucky,
and we picked out Talisker.
He sort of picked us.
He was so scared of everything,
and he didn't know how to be a dog.
To see him grow and change
and become a happy, sweet,
loving dog, was amazing.
We lost our Talisker a year ago. [Sniffling]
And we felt like Oban was missing having a friend.
We were notified of
a cruelty case in Texas.
These dogs were in falling down pens.
We picked up a total of 11 adult dogs.
Of those, two of them were pregnant.
We didn't really know exactly
when the litter was due.
And all of a sudden in the afternoon, I walk in there,
and she's starting to deliver puppies.
- We heard that the puppies were available,
and pretty much to the day that we lost Tali,
we decided that we would adopt Bruichladdich.
We had to think about
how we were gonna get her home to North Carolina.
A flight was out of the question.
The only other choice we really had was to drive back.
Say bye, Obs. I'll see you soon, buddy.
With our new friend, Bruichladdich.
Or, "Laddie," we'll call her.
I'm excited. We're headed off to the airport
to fly to Texas tonight.
I'm here with my buddy, Nate, who's traveling with me.
And very excited to pick up
the puppy early tomorrow morning.
and start our drive home.
The adventure begins.
Hi, Dan. - Hi, there! Hi. Dan.
Becky. Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
Come on in. - Thanks.
You excited? - Oh, very excited.
Hi!
You like him, don't you?
You ready for this heavy little chunk? [Laughter]
Oh, hey, buddy! You're so calm and sweet.
Oh, you're even more beautiful in person.
Or in dog.
A little later, this weekend, you'll meet the whole family.
Meet all new friends, and Oban.
Oban's gonna be a good teacher for you.
The first meeting was amazing.
It just fills my heart, and just feels sweet,
just to have something so lovable and kind
just want to sit in your lap and be loved.
And we're starting off on the right foot.
Pretty exciting.
The puppy's such a laid back sweetheart.
You know, that's the best thing that can happen
to a new puppy, to go to a home of their own,
where they've got somebody
that's just theirs, to love on 'em.
And she deserves it. She's a really fun puppy.
We're familiar with Airedale puppies,
so I'm sure it'll come out on the short end.
Mischievous, adorable.
Makes her own decisions.
Yeah, I know you. Come here, sweetheart.
There. - Let's get your new little tag on you.
Now you are officially in the family
with Oban and Talisker.
Now the big journey begins.
It's a bit of a crazy plan, I know.
We get it. And we appreciate.
You guys drive safe.
Thank you.
You've got precious cargo.
Say bye, we're going on an adventure.
See ya in North Carolina.
You all ready? - Let's do it! - Here we go.
This is our first stop.
We're in Columbus, Texas.
Her first walk.
She's doing great.
Good job, Dan.
Airedales.
Come. Come on! Come on. Buddy, come here!
Come here! Hey buddy! [laughter]
I suppose she was doing it before, I swear!
On a 20-hour car trip, we thought we could stop at
any fire hydrant, and that would work.
But why stop at any fire hydrant,
when we can stop at
the world's largest working fire hydrant,
right here in Beaumont, Texas.
Come here, Laddie! Come on, girl! Come here.
Good girl. Good girl!
Want your belly rubbed? You want a belly rub!
All right. The journey continues.
Let's go!
So, it's Saturday night. We're in Mobile, Alabama.
Now it's dinnertime, and she's starting to
come out of her shell a little bit,
and play, and run around.
She seems to be hungry. - Yeah.
It's Sunday morning, Day Two.
We've got about another 11 hours in front of us.
Laddie's really getting comfortable around us.
Playing, having a great time.
We are about an hour and a half
away from getting home, after being on the road
for two days,
and I'm really excited to get home tonight.
So, we're pulling into the house
after our long drive.
And we're gonna go meet the family.
Come on, big girl. Come on.
I know, you're a little nervous. It's okay.
Hello!
Hello?
Hi!
Hi, E!
Good girl, Ob. She's so tiny, yeah!
Come say hi.
Oh, that's beautiful, guys.
Laddie, this is Oban.
E, do you want to give her a pet? Feel her?
Maybe a little hug? She's very sweet.
Oban, thank you for being so kind and such a good friend.
You gotta put her face up on her. She's so small.
I can feel her.
Is she so soft?
Yeah, she's so soft! Touch her, Mommy.
Did you touch her? She's so soft.
It was great to see her first exploring our home.
I think it was really fun to see her exploring the backyard.
I loved watching her run around,
have that puppy spirit. We haven't seen
a puppy in our backyard for a while.
So that was really nice.
Later today, we're gonna take Bruichladdich
on a walk through the woods in our backyard.
Talisker used to love running back there.
And we have a little plaque out there for him.
Oban and Talisker have been
fundamental parts of our life.
But Laddie's her own dog,
and will forge her own path.
She's not a replacement for anything.
And she's gonna provide a lifetime of memories,
and stories, and love.
Laddie's been at home with us for two months now.
Good Laddie.
She loves going out back for long walks,
and playing fetch in the backyard.
Eli and Zachary absolutely love her.
She and Oban had about a month of overlap
before Oban passed away,
and I think that was invaluable time for both of them.
We miss Oban deeply,
and having Laddie in the house
really helps bring a sense
of happiness and joy and youthfulness
back to the family.
We couldn't be happier with her.
All three of our dogs have been named
after Scotch.
Oban, Talisker, and now Bruichladdich.
The challenge with naming your dog after Scotch
is that 99 percent of the population
cannot pronounce your dog's name.